Good to Know about Bayrischzell

Yes, and it is often the nicer option. From Munich central station the Bayerische Regiobahn runs on line RB 55 directly to Bayrischzell, leaving from the Starnberger Flügelbahnhof section, journey time around one hour and 24 minutes.

Bayrischzell is the end of the line. Whoever arrives here is where the track stops. Many trails start practically on the doorstep, and if you stay a few days you do not necessarily need a car.

No, but you have to be in the right part of the train from the start. Leaving Munich, the train runs together with the sections towards Lenggries and Tegernsee and is split in Holzkirchen.

Watch the platform display and the labelling on the carriage when you board. Otherwise you end up at Tegernsee instead of at the mountains. That is the tip most people learn once they are already on the train.

In Geitau. The RB 55 stops shortly before Bayrischzell at its own station. If you are staying at the Schmiedhof, the Postgasthof Rote Wand or the Gasthof Aiplspitz, that is your stop.

Around 80 kilometres, a good hour if the roads are clear. Via the A8 towards Salzburg, then on country roads through the Schlierachtal via Miesbach and Schliersee.

The last stretch towards Bayrischzell is leisurely rather than fast, but it is a pretty drive.

Parking in the village is spread across several small areas, there is no big central car park. New spaces have been added near the church, but only a few. On top of that there are the spaces at the Sportalm, the area behind the minigolf course and the spaces at the railway station.

Experience shows the station fills up first as soon as anything is going on in the village. If you find nothing there, drive straight on to the Sportalm.

That depends on where exactly you stop. Up at the upper Sudelfeld you will find the car parks of the Speckalm and the Walleralm. Those are meant for guests of the two mountain inns, and at the Walleralm this is clearly signposted. If you stop there to eat, park there. If you only want to hike, please find another spot.

For the areas further down the operator charges fees. In the summer season it is 5 euros for the Waldkopf and Grafenherberg car parks. In winter, lift ticket holders park free of charge while the lifts run, for which your number plate is registered when you buy the ski pass. Anyone without a ski pass pays 15 euros. In winter that mainly affects tobogganists and winter hikers.

The Tannerfeld car park belongs to the municipality of Bayrischzell and also charges a fee. All information without guarantee, the binding source is sudelfeld.de↗.

It gets tight, but there are two places where something is most likely still free. The first is the hikers' car park next to the Sportalm. That expressly does not mean the spaces directly at the business, those belong to the premises. The second is the Tannerfeld, a little further on seen from the Sportalm, where there are large areas, though they charge a fee.

If you have the choice: setting off early helps more than any insider tip.

Yes, several in the village. There are charging points at the railway station and at the Sportalm. Another charging station is in front of the Metzgerei Linderer, the butcher's shop.

Yes, two by now, both belonging to the Kreissparkasse Miesbach-Tegernsee. One is in the middle of the village, opposite the Hotel Königslinde and the Alpencafé Butz, where the bank has its branch. The second one is down at the Sportalm and has only been there for a few months.

At the railway station there was temporarily a machine run by an independent operator. It is gone, so do not rely on it.

Good to adequate in the village, but it depends a lot on your provider. O2 and Telekom now both transmit from the same mast at the new Explorer Hotel under construction and arrive with 5G. Vodafone sits up on the Sudelfeld and transmits 5G there too, but because of the terrain only 4G reaches the village. If you are with Vodafone, you have the weakest coverage in Bayrischzell.

In Geitau it is the other way round. Because the mast stands on the Sudelfeld, Vodafone works best there, while O2 and Telekom drop out completely in places.

A genuine dead zone starts at the Zipflwirt and continues towards the Kloo-Ascher-Tal. There you have no reception at all. A new mast opposite has been built but was not yet in operation last time we checked, and which providers will use it is still open. If you are hiking there, download your map beforehand.

Apart from the stationery shop, the shops in the village stay open all day. What matters to visitors, so the baker, the butcher and the shops with provisions, generally does not close.

Yes, at the Bäcker Butz in the village.

There is a doctor in the village. The nearest pharmacy is in Fischbachau, where you will also find several medical practices.

For doctors and pharmacies Bayrischzell has traditionally looked towards Fischbachau rather than Schliersee. In an emergency dial 112 as everywhere, and the out of hours medical service is reached on 116117.

The nearest filling station is in Neuhaus. It has limited opening hours, outside of those an automated pump is available.

If you want to save a few cents, drive over to Thiersee on the Austrian side. The filling station there is tucked away a little behind the village.

At the weekend you are better off relying on the train. The Bayerische Regiobahn runs hourly between Munich and Bayrischzell, on Sundays too.

With buses it depends on the line and the season. Besides the RVO there is the Wendelstein Ringlinie and the MVV Bergbus, and those run on seasonal timetables. Check the current timetable before setting out rather than counting on a fixed frequency.

No, and that regularly surprises visitors from abroad. In most shops you can pay by card, but often only above a minimum amount. Paying two euros fifty for a bottle of cola by card, the way it works in the Netherlands, usually does not work here.

On top of that, which cards are accepted is decided by each business, depending on which payment provider it uses. At the Wasmeier Museum, for example, only debit cards were taken recently, no credit cards.

So always carry some cash and do not assume you can pay for everything by card.

At the railway station, in the Haus des Gastes and at the Sportalm.

There is no public drinking fountain in the village. The easiest way is to refill your bottle at the public toilets at the railway station, in the Haus des Gastes or at the Sportalm. Out on the trail, just ask at a mountain inn, that is usually no problem.

More than you would think. At the Wasmeier open air museum in Schliersee much of it happens inside the old farmhouses, so you stay dry. The Wetterstollen in Deisenried is underground anyway. For swimming there is the indoor pool in Schliersee, and several thermal baths lie in the neighbouring districts.

If the rain sets in for longer, the drive to Rosenheim to the museum or one of the exhibitions is worth it. You will find an overview with journey times and prices under the excursion destinations.

Yes, but on a lead. That applies in the village just as much as up on the pasture, and it is not about being difficult: there are repeated incidents between dogs and grazing cattle, and they rarely end well.

There is something else that ought to go without saying. Take your rubbish back with you, all of it, including glass, bottle caps and cans. Whatever is left lying on the pasture will eventually be eaten by a cow.

A woman who runs an alpine pasture nearby writes about what happens then again and again. A discarded can is crushed as the animal feeds, the metal cuts open its stomach, and it bleeds to death internally. The animal dies because somebody did not pack their can away again. Anyone who has heard that once stops leaving things behind. If a herd is standing on the path, give it room, do not walk between a cow and her calf, and if the animals become restless, keep your dog close and move on briskly.

Several, in fact. The easiest are the paths along the Leitzach. The loop at the glider airfield is lovely, and the Melkstattrunde works with a pram too.

Another option is the path behind the Zipflwirt towards the Elendsattel. It pushes well for a long stretch but gets bumpy towards the end in the direction of the Grundalm, because the stones get bigger. If you have pushed that far, either turn around or expect a rough ride.

Without any particular fitness, all the level routes in the valley work, above all the paths along the Leitzach. You can walk a long way there without any noticeable climb.

With a walking frame it gets harder, and I am not going to pretend otherwise: many of our paths have larger stones on them, which is no fun with a frame. I cannot give you a reliable recommendation here. If you are planning something specific, ring the tourist office beforehand and ask about the current state of the paths.

The village has the Alpenfreibad, and the neighbouring municipality has another open air pool. In Schliersee there is the lakeside lido and the indoor pool as well.

For swimming in a lake you have two options, and opinions differ: Schliersee or Thiersee. I find the Thiersee quieter, and parking there is usually more relaxed, even though it fills up on hot days too. Schliersee is the livelier of the two.

Most reliably in January and February. Thanks to snowmaking, winter sports work from the beginning of December, and the season usually runs until the end of March, depending on how early spring arrives.

Worth knowing: artificial and natural snow are two different things. Even in weak winters the aim is to keep the Sudelfeld running, and the cross country trails are prepared wherever possible. It only has to be cold enough. The scenery around it is then sometimes green while the piste is white.

We do not have a big ceremonial cattle drive down from the pastures the way Tyrol does. If you want to know when a particular farmer brings his animals down, you have to ask him directly. There are no fixed dates or programme for it here.

Yes, November is underrated. There are beautiful, clear days, and Bayrischzell has an advantage here: we lie high enough that the fog often stays below us. Not seldom it reaches up to Geitau or Osterhofen while it is sunny up here.

Two things you should know all the same. At the end of October, when the summer season is winding down and the winter season has not started, there is a gap of about two weeks. And in November a number of restaurants and shops close for their annual break. Check beforehand where you can eat.

Otherwise November is quiet. Only on fine weekends does it get busy, when many people come out from Munich for the day.

The operator publishes the operating times on its own website, including the maintenance periods. The cable car usually has its overhaul during the quiet November period, and the cog railway often does not run then either. So have a quick look before you set off, it saves you a wasted journey.

The most important thing is your footwear. Sturdy shoes with a proper sole, no more and no less. They do not have to be mountain boots as long as the path is good. Only when it gets steeper and the ground uneven do proper boots make sense.

Every summer I see people walking uphill in Crocs, flip flops or sandals. That goes well until it gets wet or the path turns to gravel. Pack a jacket as well, even if it is warm down in the valley. Up top it is quickly ten degrees colder, and a thunderstorm rolls in faster than you can get back down.